


Letting go

by Lalelilolu



Category: Christian Bible
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternative Universe - Traveling, Angst, Crack, Don't Examine This Too Closely, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Happy Ending, I Don't Even Know, I don't really remember everything from bible studies, I wrote this between 1 and 2 am don't come at me please, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, Tsundere Paul the Apostle, satirical fanfiction, shitpost, there is no hidden meaning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:30:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25310146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalelilolu/pseuds/Lalelilolu
Summary: Paul is looking forward to an exciting trip with Barnabas touring Turkey, but Barnabas decides to invite his young friend John Mark to join in on the trip. Paul is hurt, because he has been looking forward to this trip for weeks. He decides on a whim to continue his travels with his air bnb acquaintance Silas.
Relationships: Barnabas/John Mark, Paul the Apostle/Barnabas (one sided), Paul the Apostle/Silas
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Letting go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keepthekettleon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepthekettleon/gifts).



> I was talking religion with a friend and we discussed the bible and context and history and we ended up talking about Paul and they summarized his story for me, so I made it into an ao3 summary. And then I said “I can make a shitpost out if this.” The shitpost is the text beneath. The summary the text above.  
> This is not meant to attack anybody or written with any ill intent; I am Christian myself, have been altar girl for a couple of years. This is just to hopefully make someone smile or maybe laugh, because there is never enough laughter in the world.
> 
> For anyone asking themselves, why I had the audacity to write and post this:  
> [Here is your answer](https://www.directupload.net/file/d/5882/rcr7k7i3_jpg.htm)

Paul takes a drag from the joint before handing it over to Barnabas. “We should travel the world.” Barnabas blows out smoke. “For what? To find God or what?” His signature sarcastic smirk in his face as he lifts one eyebrow. Paul swoons on the inside, oh how he wants to kiss that smile of Barnabas’ face to finally calm down the butterflies in his stomach – or to make them go wild. He doesn’t know what would happen. But he knows it would be amazing, has known so for the past year.

He met Barnabas on a festival where he was with his friends. J-Man, Peter, James, Andrew and the rest of their crew. They had hit off instantly and Paul had fit right into their little fellowship. They had talked for hours and hours that night. Paul grinned stupidly, the feelings of happiness of back then rising up again and making him feel warm and giddy.

Suddenly someone snipped their fingers in front of his face. “Hey, you still there?” Paul grinned at Barnabas. He was just so beautiful. “Yeah, let’s find God. We should start in Rome and then go to Turkey. And then just see where our feet carry us.” Barnabas puffs the joint again before giving it back. “Rome and Turkey, really now? And after that, what then?” Barny looks so cute when he is confused. “It’s warm there. I want to go somewhere warm.” Paul replies as if that would explain everything.

And with that it’s decided, they’d go travel the world starting in Rome.

\---

Rome had been beautiful, the ancient buildings so full of history and spirituality. And Paul had been able to take as many pictures as he had wanted to without Barnabas getting suspicious about being on most of them.

“I just don’t know why he has to come with us!” Paul exclaimed. As nice as Rome had been the next stage of their travels already annoyed him.

“Because I want to meet up with my friend! I probably won’t have any other occasion to meet up with him.” Barnabas had been getting on his nerves about meeting one of his internet acquaintances in Turkey since they properly had started planning this trip. Some guy named Mark.

Maybe it isn’t really the next stage that annoyed him.

“Don’t you think it’s a little creepy of you to meet up with someone who is barely legal?” Paul really doesn’t want the younger man to intrude on the precious time he has with his best friend and the man he was so desperately in love with.

“Why would it be creepy? Oh my God, do you think I would really start something with him? You are unbelievable! He is just a kid!” Barnabas looks hurt, he never would have thought Paul would ever think something like that about him.

“No, I am just saying he is eighteen and you are almost thirty. People aren’t going to like that. I didn’t want to imply anything like that but others might.” Paul rises his hands in front of his chest defensively. He hates it when Barny is mad at him.

Barnabas scoffs at him, his face still twisted with anger before he turns around and leaves the airport.

\---

“This is so stupid.” Paul murmurs as he takes another swig from the beer bottle in his hand. He barely tastes it; being too caught up in his own head.

“What is stupid?” Fuck, he can’t even be alone in his misery now. He had known booking the cheap air bnb option with multiple inhabitants had been a mistake. Behind him is Silas, the always grinning, happy roommate they have to put up with. He annoys the fuck out of Paul.

He is in a bad mood; why can’t Silas just leave him alone? He just wants to drown in his own misery. “Fuck off.”

“Just because your boy toy is out with someone else, doesn’t mean you have the right to forgo any kind of politeness you may or may not be educated to have.” Silas squints at him, there is anger in his eyes. It’s almost pretty how the grey gets darker. Almost. It goes well with the dark grey shirt he is wearing. Not that Paul notices or cares, of course.

“Mister sunshine getting a little cloudy there?” Paul starts giggling about his own joke. It was the funniest thing he had ever heard, at least to his alcohol addled brain. Silas just stares at him speechless. “Cat got your tongue?” Paul can’t resist teasing him.

The frown on Silas’ face deepening. He looks so cute when he is angry. Or he would if Paul would care. Which he definitely does not. He also doesn’t care how the grey sleeves of Silas’ shirt strain against his biceps as he flexes his arms in order to control his anger.

“You know what, forget it. Just continue to drown your sorrows in alcohol and have fun with the hangover tomorrow.” Silas looks at him with a strange expression and furrowed eyebrows. He looks like what Paul feels like whenever he sees Barny and Mark laughing over a joke together. When Paul is no part of it. When they make their stupid inside references and Barny calls Mark his young pandacan or whatever that Star Wars thing is called.

Paul hates Star Wars.

Realization hits him.

_Oh_. He had hurt Silas, that was not what he had wanted to archive. Paul just wanted to rile him up a little bit, to get under his skin, so he that he didn’t have to continue to think about storm grey eyes anymore.

“Hey wait!” Silas is already halfway out of the door but turns around to him. “Sorry, I – just sorry, I didn’t. Didn’t want to be mean. Sorry.”

Silas crosses his arms in front of his chest. “That’s a lie.”

“No – I, no – look I didn’t want to hurt you. Sorry.” Paul mumbles barely audible. Silas raises an eyebrow. “Want to talk about it?”

Paul motions for him to sit down next to him and offering him one of his beers. When Silas is seated next to him and nursing his beer Paul decides he might as well get it of his chest. “I was just looking forward to this. Spending time with my best friend, make shenanigans. Do crime. Spending time together. And then he goes and spends time with. Mark. Fucking John Mark.” He curses out the name.

“He isn’t that bad.”

“That makes it even worse. Can’t even hate him for being a dick or something.”

“The way I see it is, that your supposedly best friend ditched you to spend time with someone else. If you ask me that’s not really how you treat a friend. It’s kinda shitty.” Silas takes another swig from the bottle.

“Yeah.” Paul opens another beer. “He left me at the market today. Just forgot about me. Just went on to the bus with Mark and fuck me, I guess.” Suddenly the light is too bright in the room. Paul lays his head on his arms to hide from the bright ceiling lights. If it also is to hide his tears, no one has to know.

“I’d like that.”

“What?” He isn’t sure he heard that right.

“Hmm? I haven’t said anything.”

The silence is nice, it is calm. Paul loathes to break it but he wants to let it all out now. It’s like a dam has been broken

“You should ditch him; he treats you like shit.” Silas speaks before Paul gets the chance. There is a faint smile on his lips and his gaze challenging.

“Yeah right and then I travel alone and get mugged at the next train station.” It’s not like the idea to ditch Barnabas and Mark isn’t enticing. He is so sick of third wheeling, but then he’d be on his own and that really terrifies him.

“You could come with me. I’m thinking Antioch next maybe Ephesus after that. Greece also sounds nice.”

It is really alluring to take the hand that is held out in his direction. Paul looks Silas in the face, the offer is clearly sincere, an encouraging smile on the handsome face, the grey eyes now shining silver with honest excitement. He doesn’t know what makes him do it, but he grabs the offered hand and with that he has himself a deal.

\---

“Hey Silas?” “Yes, darling?” “Thanks for being gay and doing crimes with me.” Paul snuggles happily into Silas’ embrace. Who would have thought that he could ever be this happy? Even after having to pay a hefty bail.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, keepthekettleon, for never shying away from a discussion with me.


End file.
